Chapter 8
The next morning, all watched as Wolverine, Revanche and Psylocke took off in one of the Blackbirds for Richmond, Virginia. Charles did not want the two of them going alone, but neither did he want either to feel mistrusted--enough harm had come from that already--and it was true that Wolverine's sharpened senses may pick up something that psychic senses did not. He hoped they would find some of the answers they needed. He could feel Julia's impatience despite the fact she had agreed with this wait. And it was increasingly difficult to master his own impatience.
Psylocke sat in one corner of the cabin, Revanche in another. Wolverine was at the controls. He could bite the tension. Chuck hadn't really fooled anyone by asking him along on this little ride. He wondered what had made him stupid enough to say yes. He felt like a referee for two schools of piranha. They had been working together well enough, especially during this latest crisis, but it didn't take a genius to see that outside of work, they were barely off each other's throats. This bit with Scotty had been distracting Psylocke, but now that he had shown his true colors so to speak, showed that he was still in love with Jean, that was taken away. Situation could get explosive. That was probably why he had agreed. He shared a bond with Psylocke, and if she was gonna blow, he'd be likelier to spot it than anyone else. And he wanted to escape from the house of doom.
The mansion wasn't usually that bad, but lately it seemed everything was going wrong. Colossus had left, with Magneto for God's sake, after his little sister died. Some sort of plague was loose, or could be. He'd lost Mariko. Scott and Jeannie split. And now this. Seemed like the whole world was falling apart sometimes. He almost wanted a good old fashioned drag out fight, it was more honest somehow. He grinned. Must be getting nutso, actually wanting someone like the MLF or the acolytes to attack. Then again, feeling the tension at his back... Could at least be good for a change.
Val and Hank met them at the landing field. "Looks like I left just in time," Hank commented as he joined Wolverine.
"When you're away all hell breaks loose," Logan agreed.
"Does Charles have any more information?" Val asked.
"Neah. Nothing more. It doesn't look like this is a threat to everybody, Chen's being selective. She was after Storm and Gambit, missed one, got the other."
"If she's back, it could mean the Shadow King is, too."
"That's why we're here," Revanche said.
"It appears to me that she may be enough of a threat to warrant extreme care, even if the Shadow King himself is not present," Hank said. "The abilities she has demonstrated are nothing for the proverbial sneeze."
"Got that right, Beastie," Logan said. "Doesn't seem like she needs the King anymore."
"Where could she have gained such powers?"
"Some of them appear to be like the Shadow King's," Psylocke said. "He could move through dimensions, corrupt minds..."
"But she wasn't even a mutant before he got hold of her, how could she have gained even a portion of his powers?" Val asked.
"We might have to ask her to know," Logan said. He looked like he might look forward to questioning her, slowly.
"If we can."
Val took them to a waiting car, and the whole party went down to the house once occupied by the Shadow King. "You're lucky it's still standing. After Jean and Storm went through here last week, we were going to demolish it. Plans got pushed back a couple of weeks, but that's all that kept it standing."
"Fate moves in mysterious ways," Psylocke said.
"A pity she seems to have that in common with most of our enemies," Hank said.
"Makes her one heck of a date, though," Logan said.
"Here we are," Val said, pulling into the drive way of an older mansion on the outskirts of Richmond. "It was a beautiful house once."
"Now the stink of the Shadow King is all over it."
"You can sense it still, after all this time? He obviously didn't buy the correct air freshener," Hank said.
"The stink of evil permeates this house," Revanche said. "Its very aura..."
Psylocke was nodding. "But it is not present evil, only its memory."
"That's bad enough," Val said. "If you don't mind, I'll wait outside."
The foursome nodded and went in. The furniture was covered, and despite the morning light filtering through the windows, the place was dark.
"Whew! There really is something malodorous permeating this not so humble abode," Hank said.
"Ororo said that Jean spent time in the bedroom and the adjoining bathroom, we should start there," Psylocke said. Revanche nodded and the two moved off together.
"They make a good team," Hank said.
"When they take a break from wanting to kill each other, yeah, they got potential."
"Is that why you came along?"
"Officially I came to sniff out traces of the Shadow King. They're here all right, but that's old news."
"Ah, I see. Charles is usually much more subtle."
"He's been going for the direct approach last few days. Must be influence from Gambit's mamma."
"And how is the tree from whence sprang our Cajun oak?"
"Irish, got as much charm as the kid and then some, brains, too."
"Pity I missed her."
"I got the feeling she'll be around the mansion now and then, or Chuck'll be taking overnight trips."
"Really? I turn my back for one minute and all sorts of mischief breaks out."
"We been busy little bees."
"I sense nothing out of the ordinary in the bedroom," Revanche said.
"The bathroom is the same..." Psylocke's voice drifted a bit, "though there seems to be some kind of... echo."
Revanche hesitated a moment, "Perhaps the two of us."
Psylocke gave a sharp nod, though she disliked the idea as much as Revanche. They touched hands and more easily than made either comfortable, merged their powers to hunt. Now they could get a trace sense of Jean's presence, and underlying that, very faint, they got a sense of another woman. A woman corrupt, delighting in the corruption. Powerful. And just a little bit insane.
They opened their eyes together. "Lian Chen."
"That settles that," Revanche said.
"We should get back as soon as possible. Now we have a sense of all three--"
"--so we should be able to trace them all," Revanche finished.
"Is this how twins feel?"
"I wouldn't know." But it was said with a hint of reluctant laughter.
Psylocke grinned, "Neither would I." She turned towards the main rooms, "We've got something."
Hank and Wolverine came in, both subtly relieved to see them both standing, and smiling. "Whacha got?"
"We," said Revanche with a glimmer of a grin, "have a sense of Lian Chen, she was here."
"She's insane," Psylocke added.
"Powerful, though." Psylocke nodded and Revanche continued, "We think Jean was corrupted, not kicked out of her body."
"Makes sense," Logan said. "We've all seen Jean use her TK powers since she came back, the Shadow King, or one who's got some of his power, never did."
"Just makes the combination more dangerous," Psylocke said.
They were on their way back within a half hour. The ride back was less tense, and Logan wondered if anything had been settled between the two. He figured it probably wouldn't last, but for right now, they seemed to accept the fact that they made a good working combination. It should last until this was over. He hoped.
They used the flight time for debriefing so they could get right on the job when they landed. Charles questioned them closely, but the sense was too faint for them to have learned much more than they had already told Logan and Hank. "I don't like going in with so little information, but since it is unlikely that we'll get more, we'll have to."
Both nodded. "We'll be ready."
****
Charles switched off the monitor and radio, glanced at his watch. They would be landing in forty-five minutes. Little enough time to make the preparations he needed. He called Julia, Storm, Cyclops and Rogue, telling them to meet him in the medical facilities.
He waited until they had all gathered before beginning. "I've just heard from Psylocke and Revanche. They found psychic evidence of Lian Chen. There seems very little doubt now that she has co-opted Jean and that together they have been responsible for the events of the past few days. As soon as they land, Psylocke, Revanche, Rogue, Julia and I will join psychically and try to contact Gambit and Jean. If we're successful, we will undoubtedly encounter Lian Chen as well. The extent of her powers remains an unknown factor. That is why you, Storm, and you, Scott will be monitoring all of us very carefully. We will be linked to each other and to Cerebro. If any of our readings go beyond the set parameters, you will give Cerebro the command to break the link. "
"But what if we're right close--" Rogue said.
He shook his head, "We have to be very careful, Rogue. Lian Chen is insane. She has already taken over Jean, whether she now controls Gambit remains unknown. If we cannot save them, we have to prevent further harm."
Julia's face tightened but she said nothing. Charles had essentially said he would abandon them, both Jean and her son if it was necessary. A cold part of her understood his reasons, could even agree with them. The rest would stubbornly resist until she got her son back.
Charles knew Julia would disapprove of his plan, might even fight it, but hopefully it would not come to that. "We'll be linked for no more than one hour. Wolverine will be here as well. His bond to Psylocke may serve as a warning system." He paused to make sure they all understood. "Since all of us are eager to proceed, it would be best to begin the pre-link preparations now, so we'll only have to integrate Psylocke and Revanche when they arrive."
Julia and Rogue nodded, both coming forward, neither having a very clear idea of what was going to happen. Charles guided them to one of five beds that had been prepared, bade them both to lie down. "Get comfortable. Storm, if you would," he indicated the monitoring devices and she picked them up, began attaching the pads to Julia's wrists, one to the side of her neck, two others at her temples. Charles had put on gloves and did the same to Rogue.
"These things feel kinda funny, professor," Rogue said.
"They're mostly monitoring your body, vital statistics, etceteras. We'll need a few minutes of readings to set normal parameters and get a rough idea of acceptable latitude. The two attached to your scalp will take similar readings of your brain wave activity. Those will be baseline readings, once we've linked, we'll expect four to five times the amount of activity."
"When do we get hooked up to Cerebro? Ah ain't never done that before."
"Me either," Julia said with a smile.
"As soon as we've established the baselines. Cerebro will be an extraneous factor, it's best to get something before that."
"Whatever you say."
Charles took several readings, established parameters he felt comfortable were accurate enough.
"Aren't you going to get monitored, Charles?" Julia asked.
"My readings are already programmed into Cerebro. Psylocke's as well. The two of you and Revanche are the only unknowns. Since her readings should closely match Psylocke's, Revanche shouldn't take that long."
"You mean we're the only real problems, right?"
He smiled, "Something like that." He turned away from her, motioned for Scott to follow, got outside hearing range. "You'll need to monitor both Jean and Gambit very closely. If we're successful, their bodies may start fighting cryogenic hibernation the instant they return. We'll have to act quickly to be sure we help them do that, not hurt them. Especially Gambit. Jean has been through this once before. If he encounters too much resistance, he may flee from his body again and he'll be less trusting, it may be more difficult to find him again."
"Won't you be able to explain to him what to expect?"
"If we have a chance, we'll certainly do that. However, we have no idea under which circumstances any of us will return. There may be no time to prepare anyone."
Scott nodded. "You can count on me, professor."
"I know that, Scott." He hesitated a moment, "This may be a silly precaution, but... be ready with a sedative, make that two."
"For who, sir?"
"Whoever may need it," he said cryptically.
****